Barclays Raises Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $290.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $275.00 to $290.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 11.35% from the stock’s current price.

NSC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $294.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $286.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $251.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.56.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:NSC opened at $260.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.73. The company has a market cap of $58.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, for a total transaction of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,655. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nabanita C. Nag sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $88,529.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $371,077.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norfolk Southern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,676,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,627,000. Broderick Brian C acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the first quarter valued at approximately $956,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the second quarter valued at approximately $846,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at approximately $583,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.